Windows 10 gets a fix for annoying stuttering in some games

Patch KB4601382 is a preview update, though, with the usual caveats

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Windows 10has received a preview version of a cumulative update, and it’s one that gamers might want to apply if they’ve been having any kind of trouble with stuttering or flickering (or indeed other rendering issues) when playing certain games.

AsMicrosoftstates, patch KB4601382 (forWindows 10 May 2020 Updateand October 2020 Update) applies the following fix: “Updates an issue with screen rendering after opening games with certain hardware configurations.”

As it’s in preview, you’ll have to manually find and install this bunch of fixes via Windows Update (this patch will be next month’s cumulative update when it lands on March 9 – but folks who are exasperated with the bugs that it cures may just want to grab it now to save them from another week of pulling their hair out).

As mentioned, as well as the problems withgames, there are other fixes here. These include several display-related bugbears like an “issue that might cause video playback to flicker when rendering on certain low-latency capable monitors”, and incorrect refresh rates showing under advanced display settings when it comes toHDR-capable monitors.

KB4601382 also delivers a solution for unexpected screens popping up in theWindows 10setup experience (initial out of box installation process, that is).

Caution first

If you’re not affected by any of these issues, or at least not bothered by them to any pressing degree, it’s best to steer clear of a preview update – because as the name suggests, these are still in testing, so may be rough around the edges or have unintended consequences in one form or another.

Strictly speaking, it’s best to wait for the finalized patch (indeed, as we’ve seen many times in thepast, even the finished version can mistakenly introduce fresh bugs – so preview updates need to be treated with some caution).

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ViaWindows Latest

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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